During operation, robotic floor-cleaning devices may encounter obstructions on work surfaces, which may become entangled in one or more wheels of the device, preventing the device from completing work. Several solutions have been proposed in prior art to detect wheel obstructions. For example, the amount of current generated by an individual wheel motor has been used to detect obstructions because the current generated in rotating a wheel increases when a wheel is obstructed. Once an obstruction is detected, the wheel is programmed to stop rotating and the robotic device reverses direction until the current is below a certain threshold, at which time the robotic device may resume operation. Sensors have also been used to detect entanglement with similar response of wheel reversal upon detection. This method may not be ideal as the robotic device is required to operate in the opposite direction for a period of time until the entanglement is removed which is inefficient and increases cleaning time. Furthermore, in certain cases, large obstacles may be drawn up by a wheel and lodged above it or an obstacle may become tightly wound around the wheel. In these situations, further jamming could occur wherein the wheel can neither operate normally in the forward nor reverse direction to remove the entangled obstacle. Generally, in prior art, the wheels are reversed to remove obstructions. A more precise and efficient method for removing an obstruction from a wheel is needed.